CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After enduring a brutal recession at his day job at Wachovia and sharp cuts at his volunteer job as chair of the Charlotte-based United Way, Carlos Evans says, "I've had about as much fun as I can stand."
This morning Evans presided over his last United Way board meeting, installing 22 board members, nine of them returning from the previous board. That's almost one-third the size of some previous boards that swelled to as many as 63 members, and reflects an overall shrinking in the size of the charitable agency.
In the last year the United Way has cut staff from 97 full-time employees to 53. Some member agencies saw their United Way donations cut in half. Now Evans and United Way president Jane McIntyre project no further cuts to member agencies thanks to belt-tightening inside the agency, increased collections on pledged donations and a one-time gift outside the campaign.
"We will end June 30, 2010 in the black," said Evans. "We are forecasting to be able to keep agencies whole rather than have cuts like last year."
"We could not deliver another cut to agencies," said McIntyre. "They could not sustain that and survive." McIntyre called the last year "...the most challenging year, hopefully, in our lifetimes."
During the last 18 months, United Way contributions fell by more than a third after a severe recession and a salary scandal surrounding a proposed $2 million retirement package for CEO Gloria Pace King, who was fired. King's pay and benefits are now the subject of a federal grand jury investigation.
The board disclosed today that the United Way has "...incurred $216,138 in unreimbursed legal and professional fees" related to King's lawsuit. Evans says insurance covers 75% of the legal fees.The lawsuit is pending in federal court.
Evans and the board called for an exhaustive study of the organization after the scandal. The former chairman and several board members resigned and apologized to donors and the community. "We owned up to the problem and we took responsibility for the mistakes that were made," says Evans.
Evans told the assembled board and staff that he felt the United Way model of a combined community fund raising drive is as relevant today as it was when it was created in the Great Depression. Evans said, "There may be a better mousetrap." But for now he said United Way is the "best shot we have" at a coordinated community fund raising effort.
